The Home Office has opened round four of its Safer Streets Fund, promising up to £150m in grants over the next three years, compared with the £70m granted in the first three rounds.
Typically the money goes to bids made by local government with police forces; or police and crime commissioners. Typically the money goes on physical security such as CCTV and lighting; or training. The previous round last year had a slant towards women’s safety after the public outcry after the murder of Sarah Everard.
The Boris Johnson Government has also made much of the Fund as part of its ‘levelling up’ agenda. This time round, the Fund is targeting neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls and – for the first time – anti-social behaviour, the Home Office said.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Our local communities are the beating hearts of the UK and I want our streets to be safe for everyone to go about their daily lives without fear inflicted on them by criminals. The Safer Streets Fund improves the safety and security of areas blighted by crime and helps the police and local councils ensure that everyone is safe on our streets, going to the shops, seeing friends. It also prevents potential perpetrators committing such crimes in the first place so our communities are able to flourish.”
And Home Office Crime, Policing and Probation Minister Malthouse said: “As well as being tough on criminals, we need to outsmart them where we can, preventing their crimes. The Safer Streets Fund does exactly that, giving neighbourhoods the money they need to “target harden” their homes and streets, outfoxing villains and making them think twice before offending. We want everyone to feel safe in the public space, and as we build safer streets, town by town, I hope that we can restore pride, alongside safety, as something people say about where they live.”
For example in Kent, foil blankets, flip flops and bottles of water have been given to Medway Street Pastors to help support night-goers in need of assistance in Rochester at night. Some £190,000 of funding went to Matthew Scott, the Kent PCC, last autumn.
More on women’s safety in the May print edition of Professional Security magazine. Picture by Mark Rowe; autumn 2020, Rochester high street, Saturday evening.
